Every single salesperson on the planet wonders how they can be better at closing. While there’s no magic formula, our sales mindset and mechanics can have a big impact on our success. In this episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill and Bryan offer sales training and coaching during a Q&A call with a podcast listener. As part of the conversation, they highlight some of the mistakes made in the sales process, how to keep deals moving forward and the best ways to communicate to prospects. Veteran sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale share some of their best insights while coaching on the fly in this special episode.

It seems like making another’s acquaintance is the ultimate in the beginning of the lead generation process. We can get really wrapped up in social media, LinkedIn, and all the other clever technologies but how does one make an acquaintance?

Since I coach people, I’m privy to their psychology. Often, my coaching clients come to me in a bad state of mind. They’re in what I call, “a dip.”

Let’s get this straight, the dip is a signal that your state of mind is off. You are out of sync. There is nothing wrong with you. There IS something wrong with the conditions you’ve created. Oh, and something else – I am not a psychiatrist. If your dip lasts longer than a few weeks, probably should get professional help.

But for most of us these few ideas can get us started.

Here are seven ideas I gave to a client who came to me about a month ago. He was a super high achiever, but he wasn’t in the right mental framework, and he felt it.

1. On Outcomes. Stop trying. Stop trying to make friends. Stop trying to get deals. Stop trying to get the outcomes that you believe you deserve. We call this “detachment.” The more emphasis you put on your outcomes, the less likely you are to run the process well. Let outcomes come to you. Go out and be interested in others. Be a good listener. Be curious (which I know you are), but let it happen if it’s supposed to happen.

A lot of time is spent trying to keep young salespeople from crashing and burning early in their careers. In this episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill and Bryan talk about viewing youth as a gift rather than a curse. What lessons can you learn from young people? What principles can you apply in your own sales career? Veteran sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale reveal some of their favorite gifts of youth. From overwhelming curiosity to fresh perspective, young people see the world in a unique way. Whether you are 25 or 65, the gifts of youth can make a big impact in your sales career.

I’ve been in three sales meetings in the last month where this very simple approach wasn’t used – and it caused the meeting to be ‘less than’ what it could have been. When you hear what it is, you’ll be shocked that not everyone does this. But even if you do it, I give you a couple of other ideas on how to make it even better!

OK, you caught me on a bad day. You caught me on a day where I don’t really want to give “tips on excellence.” I’d much rather give tips on how to be the WORST Sales Person. That’s right. How can you be mediocre at selling?

Here they are:

Have No Vision & No Goals. Stop with the goal setting. It’s all a scam. You don’t need goals. Just go out and do it, do it, do it. Pay no attention to your personal goals. Your prospect doesn’t care about your goals, so why should you? Just work extra hard. It’ll all work out.

Be Overly Enthusiastic. Just scream louder. Sell harder. Don’t let the prospect get a word in. Why would you. You know what they need already, so why let them tell you. It’s a waste of time.

Spend Zero Time on Your Message. Just allow the prospect to connect all the dots on how your value will solve their problem – or help them achieve their dreams. They’re smart enough aren’t they? Just tell them how great you are. Tell them how they’d be an idiot not to buy from you. They’ll surely buy – especially if you keep telling them.

See Everyone as a Prospect. If they’re breathing and even, remotely, resemble a good prospect, sell on! You’re just playing the game of odds. At some point, someone will buy. It’s better to see everyone as a prospect because then you get to put them on your pipeline report – and your manager will be ecstatic about all the opportunity you’re uncovering.

Wing Everything. Have no prospect plan. Have no personal business plan. Have no meeting plan. After all, you’ve been doing this for years so why do you need a process? You have your personality! What more could you need?

Forget The Follow Up. You know follow-up is overrated, don’t you? No need to recap what happened in the sales call. Surely, they took notes. It’s just a waste of time.

No More Questions. You have what you have so why do you care about the prospect’s pain and goals? It’s not like you’re going to change your offer based on what they say, are you? No. So ditch the questions.

BONUS TIP: Spend no time at all on developing your self. Forget skill-building. Forget the mental side of selling. Forget working on how to handle difficult circumstances. Sit back and watch one more episode of “The Bachelor” instead of working on yourself. After all, this is all about your product, isn’t it?

The dreaded sales ride along. No one wants to talk about it…and honestly, no one really enjoys it. In this episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill and Bryan discuss how valuable a good ride along can be. They’ll share tips for salespeople and sales managers to make a ride along meaningful, not stressful. Veteran sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale identify how salespeople should structure the ride along and leverage their manager to build rapport. They also provide insight into the best way a sales manager can evaluate, coach and contribute in this process.

We talk a lot about “pain and possibilities” as a formula for selling. And how we must, before we propose, know a little about their buying issues.

But there is more. In this audio, Bill reviews the 5 Human Needs that each of us have – yes, even our prospects. Or should I say, especially our prospects. Listen in as he reviews this and use it in your world beginning immediately!

I was oehinking the other day how little time I spend in my posts on the very thing that I have done the last 24 years - training a business-to-business sales force. This post gives you suggestions to get started, whether you hire someone from the outside (like me), or not.

The Myths of Sales Training

There are several that need to be debunked first. In no order, here they are:

1. Full Day Programs Are Useful. They are not. Wow. There, I said it. And I actually do one-day programs, mainly to launch a more comprehensive program. But I find that sitting in a room for 8 hours consuming a trainers content is not how adults learn.

What does it take to extend your sales philosophy outside of your organization? Are there simple tactics you can use to influence your peers, prospects and customers? In this episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill and Bryan discuss ways you can infuse your sales philosophy into people around you. From leveraging resources to creating informal groups of like-minded people, veteran sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale will help you spread the word beyond your own company.

About Me

I am a sales development leader and experimenter. I have worked with B2B sales groups and executives since 1990.
My philosophies and strategies have fueled explosive growth in sales and profits for my clients. I am passionate about sharing my ideas about selling, business, life, money and meaning.